More than 100 teachers, students in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv call for better public education

Tomer Velmer|Published: 08.01.11 , 22:44

More than 100 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Monday calling for better public education. Dozens of teachers and social activists in Jerusalem called for a halt in privatization in education while in Tel Aviv dozens of teachers and students carried a casket symbolizing the current state of education.

The protestors in Jerusalem, teachers taking part in the Karev Educational Program or independent education systems, carried signs reading "Education needs resuscitation" and "There's private education, no social justice."

Yuval Seri, a high-school teacher from Jerusalem said: "Today we decided to unite and launch a joint campaign demanding that the government take responsibility of public education and stop privatization processes to narrow gaps and achieve equal opportunities for every student."

Teachers march in Jerusalem (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

In Tel Aviv some 100 teachers and teaching students marched from Rothschild Boulevard to the Levinsky Park. Zahava Barkani, an education lecturer at the Kibbutzim College said: "This casket will be buried in an effort to create new public education. Education is the purpose of life. It appears that education in the past 20 years has become free for the state and expensive for citizens. It has become a business."

The Education Ministry and the Teachers Organization are set to sign a reform in junior high studies on Tuesday. According to the program, teachers will work 40 hours a week, instead of 24 and will receive a 42% raise.

Meanwhile, Thursday is slated to see another protest launched, one that is meant to fight the high costs of education in Israel.